Picker stick check



Sept. 4, 1962 A. A. LAFERTE PICKER STICK CHECK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 5, 1960 INVEN TOR. ALBERT A.LAFERTE A TTORNE Y Sept. 4, 1962 A. A. LAFERTE PICKER STICK CHECK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 5, 1960 D m T w W.

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3,052,267 PHIKER STIQ'JK CHECK Albert A. Laferte, Woonsocket, R.I., assignor to Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Mass, a corporation of Maine Filed Feb. 5, 1960, Ser. No. 7,039 2 Claims. (Cl. 139-461) This invention pertains to a check for use in connection with the picker sticks of looms It is the general object of the invention to increase the life expectancy of picker sticks and picker stick bumpers by providing bumpers of the type Which feature improved operation-a1 characteristics over the more commonly used fixedly positioned bumpers.

It is .a further object of the invention to improve yielding stops for picker sticks which function after the inward movement of the stick during picking.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide yielding stops for the picker sticks which, in addition to stopping said picker sticks, provide a cushioning effect that takes place atter actual impact of the picker stick against the bumper by means of rubber torsional hearings on which said bumper is mounted.

Looms which employ this means of delivering filling back and forth through the shed usually have picker stick bumpers or checks of the fixed position type mounted on the loomsides or assembled on the loom in such a location so as to arrest further inward movement of said picker stick after picking the shuttle across the loom. These picker stick bumpers or checks are usually made from leather, rubber or the combination of both or of some other resilient material which will satisfactorily serve the same purpose.

Reference is hereby made to United States Patents Nos. 1,529,896 and 1,741,047 that cover picker and picker stick checks that employ bumpers of the type which yield to the directional forces of the picker sticks. These bumpers are pivoted and offer resistance to and arrest the picker stick by means of springs of various types. The disadvantages of a design of this nature are the short life expectancy of the picker sticks as well as component pants of the picker stick bumpers themselves such as coiled springs or expansion springs which are constantly subjected to wind-up and release in the case of the coil type spring and expansion and con-traction in the case of the expansion type of spring.

According to the present invention, use is made of a somewhat conventional loomside type of picker stick bumper for absorbing the initial forces of impact of the picker stick, and a secondary means for assisting in cushioning the forces applied by said picker stick. The initial forces of impact are absorbed by the resilient bumper member itself, while the residual forces are absorbed by the rubber torsional bushing or bearing due to the mounting of the bumper member at the end of an arm which is pivotable on said bushing, the bumper member being thereby .displaceable in the direction of movement of the picker stick. Due the increased span over which these forces are spread as compared to the conventional stationary bumper, a more extensive and more effective energy absorbing and cushioning effect results. The spread of these forces in this manner is especially advantageous in that cracking and breakage of the picker stick is greatly diminished to extend substantially the life of the stick. Additionally wear and tear upon the outer customary leather wrapping on the bumper member is diminished to a large degree. A rubber torsional bushing is not subject to loss of resiliency from repeated twisting and untwisting as is a coil type spring. Breakage of any part of a metal spring renders that spring useless while rubber torsional bushings are virtually indestructible.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following more detailed description and. drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the invention as applied to the left-hand side of the loom;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the structure of FIG. 1 and on a slightly decreased scale;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation thereof;

FIG. 3A is a sectional enlarged view of the bumper member of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a second form of the invention as applied to the right-hand side of the loom;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the structure of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation thereof;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6 and looking in the dinection of the arrows; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional enlarged view of the bumper member taken on line 3-8 of FIG. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

In FIGS. 1 to 3 the bumper assembly is seen as applied to the left-hand loomside It and includes a first L- shaped bracket 11 one arm 12 of which is attached to the loomside by means of any suitable retaining member 13. To permit for adjustability of the bumper assembly between the front and back of the loom, a slot 14 is provided in said one arm of the bracket. The latter includes a second outwardly extending arm 15 which has serrations 16 extending vertically along the major portion of the arm. A longitudinal slot 17 extends partially along the length thereof.

A second bracket member 18 includes an outwardly flared arm 19 having vertically extending serrations 20 at one end thereof which are held in mating relationship with the serrations 16 by retaining means 21, thereby permitting adjustment of the bracket 13 inwardly or outwardly of the loom to compensate for variable sweeps of the picker stick as required by variable shuttle lengths, etc. The bracket 18 includes a hub portion 22 integral with the other end of the arm 19 which is comprised of two adjacent hub elements 23 and 24. As noted in FIG. 7 a rod 25 is centrally located in the hub portion 22 and has a hub-like end of a generally upwardly extending arm 26 fixed approximately centrally thereof by means of a pair of set screws 27 and 28. Sleeves 29 and 30 are fixed to the rod along that length thereof enclosed by each of the hub elements on opposite sides of the arm 26. Rubber torsional bushings or bearings 31 and 32 enclose the sleeves 29 and 33, respectively. Additional sleeve members 33 and 34 each envelope one of the bearings. Each rubber bearing is bonded to both the outer and inner sleeves. The hub elements include enlarged portions each of which is split inwardly to the hub center as shown at 33 and 34 thereby providing pairs of jaw members 35 and 36 for the hub elements 23 and 24, respectively. A cap screw 37 maintains the jaw members 35 in clamping relation with respect to the sleeve 33 while a second cap screw 38 functions similarly upon the jaw members 36. The inner sleeves 29 and 30 are clamped against the hub of arm 26 by nuts 39 and 40 bearing on washers 41 and 42. A bumper member generally indicated by the arrow 43 includes a block 44 of a resilient rubber or other suitable substitute which has been molded around a bolt 45 one end of which extends outwardly therefrom as seen in FIG. 3A. This bolt is fastened by a nut 46 to a sidearm 47 formed or attached to the upper extremity of the arm 26. A piece of leather, belting or other type of strap member 48 is wrapped around the face and two sides of the block 44 and has one end secured such as by a cap screw 49 to the sidearm 47 and the opposite end by a further cap screw 50 to the arm 26.

In the modification of the bumper assembly shown in osa e? FIGS. 4 to 6, the basic structure of the torsional pivot is identical to that of the device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the only difference in the two assemblies being in the supporting structure which will now be described. As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 an L-shaped bracket 51 has a vertically extending arm 52 attached by retaining means 53 to the forward face 54 of the motor stand support 55. The bracket includes a second horizontally extending supporting arm 56 whose upper surface is provided with a plurality of serrations 57 extending depthwise of the loom. A web 58 forms a reinforcement between the two arms of the bracket 51.

In this modification the hub portion 22 includes an extension 59 all along the bottom thereof the lower flat surface of which is provided with serrations which mate with those of the horizontal arm 56. A pair of cap screws 69 and 61 engageable in the slots 62 and 63, respectively, retain the hub portion 22 in any set location inwardly or outwardly of the loom. The remainder of the structure is substantially identical to that of FIGS. 1 to 3 and therefore need not be further described here.

in operation, after the picker stick 64 has been picked, it releases the shuttle (not shown) when the stick is in approximately vertical position. After about degrees of additional movement the stick makes contact with the bumper member 43 and causes that member to be compressed slightly to absorb some of the forces of impact. As the stick advances still further inwardly of the loom, the bumper member and its supporting arm 26 are caused to pivot approximately 10 to degrees until the residual forces remaining in the stick have been absorbed by the torsional deflection of the rubber bearing.

When the term rubber is used in the description and claims, it is intended to include all natural and/or synthetic rubber or rubber-like materials whether or not they may be classified as a true rubber product.

While the bumper or check has been shown as effective on the inward or picking stroke of the stick, it may be employed to check the stick upon its outward stroke or two units may function, one in each direction.

While one embodiment and a modification of the invention have been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. This invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A picker stick bumper assembly for a loom having a loomside which comprises a supporting bracket adapted to be attached to said loom-side, a member adjustably attached to said bracket, a rod carried by said member, an arm having one end thereof attached to said rod and the other end thereof including a resilient bumper, and separate torsional bushings affixed to said rod on opposite sides of said arm, said bushings being clampingly received in said adjustably attached member.

2. A picker stick bumper assembly for a loom having a loomside which comprises a supporting bracket adapted to be attached to said loomside, a member adjustably attached to said bracket, a rod carried by said member, an arm having one end thereof attached to said rod and the other end thereof including a resilient bumper, and separate torsional bushings afiixed to said rod on opposite sides of said arm, said bushings being clampingly received in said adjustably attached member, said bumper comprising a block of resilient material having a strap member attached to the outer face thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,741,047 Bergeron et al Dec. 24, 1929 1,954,934 Houdaille et al. Apr. 17, 1934 2,705,975 Bombardieri Apr. 12, 1955 2,853,325 Ward Sept. 23, 1958 2,931,395 Urguhart Apr. 5, 1960 

